Three injured when school bus rear-ends truck

A small school bus carrying 14 people rear-ended a dump truck Wednesday, seriously injuring the bus driver and two passengers, one of whom was a student, state police said.

The bus was carrying 10 high school students and three staff members when it collided with the truck, which was waiting to make a left turn, state police Sgt. Daniel Dedo said.

"It appears the school bus driver was at fault, " Dedo said, while cautioning the accident was still under investigation.

Three rescue helicopters carried the three most seriously injured to a hospital. All were in fair condition Wednesday afternoon, hospital spokesman Joe Cirillo said.

MEMPHIS

Couple take custody case to Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to hear the case of an American couple, Jerry and Louise Baker, who are trying to prevent an 8-year-old girl they raised since infancy from being returned to her Chinese parents.

The Bakers are asking the court to block a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling that ordered the reunion of Anna Mae He with parents Shaoqiang and Qin Luo He.

The Bakers took Anna Mae into their home when she was less than a month old.

SAN FRANCISCO

Lost whales appear to have returned to sea

Two lost whales last spotted near the Golden Gate Bridge may have slipped back into the Pacific Ocean after a two-week sojourn that took them 90 miles inland up the Sacramento River, scientists said Wednesday.

The pair were last seen Tuesday night in San Francisco Bay, where few obstacles were left on their route past Alcatraz to the ocean.

The whales were first spotted May 13 in the Sacramento River and got as far as the Port of Sacramento before turning around.

SEATTLE

Spammer's arrest gives Web users some relief

A 27-year-old man described as one of the world's most prolific spammers was arrested Wednesday, and federal authorities said computer users across the Web could notice a decrease in the amount of junk e-mail.

Robert Alan Soloway is accused of using networks of compromised "zombie" computers to send out spam e-mails.

Gov. Jon Corzine returned to the Statehouse on Wednesday for the first time since an April car crash nearly killed him.

Corzine broke his leg, 11 ribs, collarbone and sternum when his speeding sport utility vehicle, driven by a state trooper, slammed into a guard rail. The governor was hospitalized for 18 days, much of it in intensive care.